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OPINION

EDITORIAL: DEP earns a save on Liberty State Park

Published 3:37 p.m. ET May 8, 2018

Ella Leddy-Nadler, 9, stands near the water during a March 3 protest and nature walk to prevent a plan for a golf course to expand to Caven Point in Liberty State Park. The Murphy administration has rejected the plan.(Photo11: Michael Karas/NorthJersey.com)

The misguided attempt to add three golf course holes to the long-protected Caven Point peninsula in Liberty State Park was always a bad idea, and it seems the Murphy administration has come around to recognizing that fact.

Last week, in a letter to Liberty National Golf Club, the state Department of Environmental Protection said it would “reject all bids” and not “pursue the project at this time” to expand golf plans onto Caven Point — which is used to teach students about nature, and also has unfettered views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.

We hope this brings to an end a shortsighted, profit-driven plan launched under the Christie administration to monetize part of a 21-acre natural site that, as a reporter at our sister paper, The Record’s Scott Fallon said, “appeared tailor-made for Liberty National’s expansion plan.”

Gov. Phil Murphy campaigned last year, in part, on returning the DEP to the heart of its core mission, including beefing up conservation efforts and protecting the state’s environment from unwelcome intrusion. This decision is the most visible sign yet that the Murphy administration, in contrast with Christie, will be a defender of the state’s natural spaces.

“We applaud the decision by NJDEP to protect the treasured Caven Point Natural Area at Liberty State Park," said Greg Remaud, director of NY/NJ Baykeeper and a longtime park advocate. “If you take money and politics out, it was a clear and easy choice. It’s a breath of fresh air having a NJDEP commissioner and governor who take seriously their responsibility to protect state parks and the public trust."

Liberty National, owned by billionaire Paul Fireman, was the only entity to submit plans to the DEP in December that would have relocated three of its holes to an area of wetlands and sandy beach where hundreds of schoolchildren each year learn about the ecology of New York Harbor.

The three-page letter from the DEP ran down a list of technical reasons why Liberty National's proposal failed to meet the requirements of the state's request. The letter said Liberty National did not provide information on annual rent increases and instead offered $10,000 a month for the land or a one-time $200,000 payment.

The golf course proposal was the latest in a string of wrongheaded plans in recent years to expand private enterprise into the park. Former Gov. Chris Christie tried to do it through a number of routes, including a large-scale development with a hotel and conference center. Another plan involving the building of a marina at the south end of the park is still being considered by the DEP, which runs the state park system.

Our state parks should not be for sale. They are there for the general public to enjoy.

We know this will not be the last “environment vs. development” fight the Murphy administration faces, but we applaud the stand it is taking on Liberty State Park, a green space and natural jewel that should remain untainted by more private development.